The movies that are set to release this year (2022) are seemingly game-changing, such as Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness and Top Gun: Maverick. However, DC’s roster appears impressive, despite delays...
Zachary Levi returns as Shazam in sequel / Picture Credit: Warner Bros.
Shazam 2: Fury of the Gods is one of this year’s DC releases, which was originally slated for release on December 16th, 2022.
However, with the hype towards 2009’s Avatar sequel, Warner Bros. has briefly delayed Shazam 2 in a potential bid to avoid a release day war with James Cameron’s Avatar: The Way of Water.
Shazam 2, which stars Zachary Levi in the titular role, has been pushed back just five days, to December 21st, 2022. While this doesn’t seem like a big deal, it definitely seems to be a way for Warner Bros. to opt out of a box office war with 20th Century Studios.
The sequel to 2019’s Shazam will follow Billy (Asher Angel), who can summon an adult superhero named Shazam (Levi) at any time, simply by uttering his name.
While details surrounding Shazam 2 are somewhat clandestine at the moment, we do know that it will see two new villains, Hespera (Helen Mirren) and Kalypso (Lucy Liu). CinemaCon teased some footage of the movie earlier this week.
The news of Shazam 2’s delay came from Deadline Hollywood on Twitter, who tweeted a statement with news of the film’s delay.
This was retweeted by the director of Shazam 2, David F. Sandberg, with the quote “You’re welcome Cameron!”, which could be seen as genuine or potentially a little sarcastic towards Avatar 2 director James Cameron, with the latter being somewhat unlikely.
Just because excitement for Avatar 2 is on the rise, this doesn’t mean that Shazam 2 will be worse off. Shazam was a success upon release, and Levi definitely added some brilliant comedy and realism to the feature.
With Mirren and Liu revealed to be in the sequel, as well as the ending of Shazam seeing Billy’s siblings gain the same powers he has, fans will no doubt wish to see how the story progresses.
While it may seem odd to push the release date back and let Avatar 2 go first as the films will be in the cinema at the same time, it is all about first-day box office success, as well as how the movie does on its first weekend. By stepping back and placing Shazam 2 after the Avatar sequel, the DC feature can now shine on its own.
Shazam: Fury of the Gods will now hit cinemas on December 21st, 2022.
Written by Melissa, who you can follow on Twitter @melissajournal
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